By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Mark Hitchcock Memorial Super Show
Streamed on FITE TV
March 31, 2022 in Dallas, Texas at WrestleCon
Ian Riccaboni and Veda Scott provided commentary. Former ROH owner Cary Silken also joined in the booth mid-show. The ballroom has a high ceiling with very good lighting. The crowd was maybe 500; it’s packed in there but I hoped it would be a bigger room for an even larger crowd to observe the show. The promoters are stating that there is $5,000 prize money for the best match of the show.
1. Bandido defeated Mike Bailey at 16:19. Of course, they hit lots of dives on each other. Bandido held Bailey in a vertical suplex for nearly a minute. Bandido hit his 21-Plex at 13:00 for a nearfall. Bailey hit his 450 double knees for a believable nearfall. Bailey hit a modified One-Winged Angel for a believable nearfall. Bandido hit a top-rope Spanish Fly while holding Bailey in his arms for the pin. Excellent opener.
Bret Hart was announced as the special “guest ambassador” of WrestleCon, and he walked out to a huge pop. “If I wasn’t seeing it, I wouldn’t believe it!” Riccaboni exclaimed. Hart’s comments were brief; he told the crowd to have a great WrestleMania weekend. The crowd chanted “Thank you, Bret!”
2. Mia Yim defeated Athena at 13:39. Riccaboni said these women have each beat each other once in two ever singles matches. Good reversals to open, a slower pace than the opener, but that’s fine. Mia applied a Tarantula in the ropes at 8:00. Yim applied a Boston Crab in the center of the ring. Yim stayed in charge with a face wash in the corner, then a rolling tumbleweed. Veda is great on commentary, so passionate in calling these women matches.
Athena hit an Alabama Slam, then a second-rope powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 12:00. Athena got angry at the ref and shoved him to the mat. Athena got a chair; the ref took it from her. This allowed Yim to grab her, hit a package piledriver, and score the pin. Good return match for Mia Yim.
3. Tomohiro Ishii defeated Timothy Thatcher at 12:51. This was the first time I’ve seen Thatcher since his WWE release. He was significantly taller than Ishii. Standing reversals to open; they aren’t going straight into the chops and forearms. They open up the forearm shots at 3:00. Thatcher worked on the left arm, and Ishii sold the pain when he tried to chop.
More stiff forearms and chops at 6:30. Thatcher applied an anklelock, but Ishii was able to escape and apply his own anklelock. Thatcher applied a Divorce Court armbreaker on the mat. Ishii hit a basement clothesline for a nearfall at 10:30. Thatcher went back to an armbar. Ishii hit a brainbuster for the pin. Good match.
4. Taya Valkyrie defeated John Morrison in a Dirty Dishes match at 14:29. The husband vs. wife comedy match, with the loser doing dishes for life. This “feud” has played out on Twitter. The crowd chanted “Johnny Dishes” at Morrison. Taya got on the mic and ordered that their dirty dishes be brought to ringside. Four trays were brought out. This is eye-rolling silly stuff.
Lots of standing switches, until Taya hit a hard chop to the chest and the crowd chanted for her. She hit a running knees to the face in the corner at 2:30, then she went to the floor for the dirty dishes. Morrison superkicked a plate in front of Taya’s face and it shattered. He hit his spinning neckbreaker for a nearfall. He shattered a cup against her head; she shattered a plate on his head. A bottle got shattered on Taya’s head. Morrison poured soap on her back and used a brush on her back. In an actual wrestling move, he hit a Shining Wizard to her face. She speared him, then smashed two bottles over his head at 7:00.
Taya hit a huracanrana and applied an armbar. The ring was just covered in debris. Taya hit a low blow, put a bucket over his head, and she hit a DDT. Taya hit a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall at 9:45. This had now gone longer than needed. Taya hit her faceplant finisher, but the ref was down. Morrison hit Starship Pain on her, with dishes on her shattering. Morrison got on the mic and demanded that Parrow bring a kitchen sink to the ring, which he did. However, before he could use it, Taya started smashing more dishes on Morrison. Taya wrapped a hose around his neck, then stomped his face into the sink, allowing her to score the pin. They kissed afterward.
Jushin “Thunder” Liger hit the ring and posed. He didn’t speak. It was pretty short. He got a nice applause.
5. Michael Oku, Rey Horus, and Laredo Kid defeated Josh Alexander, Black Taurus, and Ace Austin at 13:04. Oku had a fantastic match recently against Will Ospreay in England; it is the only time I’ve seen him. Riccaboni pointed out that one side is essentially “Team Impact,” although they really aren’t aligned otherwise. Alexander and Oku traded some nice offense. Oku applied a half-crab on all three opponents at the same time.
Horus hit a spinning DDT on Taurus, then a flip dive over the ring post onto Ace Austin. Oku hit a shooting star press to the floor. In the ring, Taurus hit a backbreaker on Laredo Kid that looked painful. No tags were happening, it was just non-stop action. Horus hit a standing Spanish Fly on Ace Austin for a nearfall. They all fought in a corner. Taurus hit a press slam on Laredo off the top rope at 12:00. Oku hit a Poison Rana on Alexander on the floor. Laredo Kid hit a Poison Rana on Black Taurus in the ring. Oku hit a frogsplash on Taurus for the pin. Fun, nonstop action.
6. Minoru Suzuki defeated Biff Busick (a.k.a. Oney Lorcan) at 14:37. Suzuki got the hero’s welcome from the crowd. Busick had a bandage on his head, apparently he got cut open in a match against Jon Moxley earlier in the day (I’ll watch that soon!) Minoru tied him up on the mat early. Busick’s head started bleeding and Minoru just laughed at him. “If it wasn’t a target before, it’s a bloody red bullseye now,” Veda Scott said.
They brawled to the floor at 5:30. Back in the ring, Suzuki hit elbow shots to the cut on top of Busick’s head, then he bit at the open wound. Suzuki applied a hammerlock and twisted Busick’s fingers. Busick fired up with some European Uppercuts, and he applied a half-crab at 10:30. Busick hit a half-Dragon suplex. Minoru leveled Biff with a stiff forearm, and he hit the Gotch-style piledriver for the pin. Good match but the winner was never in doubt. The blood added some drama in terms of whether the match would get stopped early, although it really never got that excessive.
7. Atsushi Onita, Ricky Morton, Robert Gibson, Juice Robinson, and Colt Cabana defeated PCO, NZO (f/k/a Enzo Amore), Jimmy Wang Yang, Barry Horowitz, and Dango (f/k/a Johnny Curtis/Fandango) at 12:18. Only PCO and Onita were announced ahead of time, everyone else was a mystery partner. Each surprise wrestler got his own entrance. NZO did his pre-match mic-work from every NXT show he ever appeared. Riccaboni cheered the appearance of his former commentary partner Cabana. Cabana and Horowitz started; Riccaboni said that Cabana, who is Jewish, always looked up to Horowitz. They hugged and traded some standing offense.
Dango and Juice got in and sped up the offense. Wang Yang got tagged in and the crowd chanted “cowboy shit!” He hit a standing moonsault on Juice; it looks like he could still go in the ring. PCO entered at 5:00; he no-sold Juice’s chops. Onita entered and sprayed mist at PCO, and they brawled on the floor. NZO attacked the Rock N’ Roll Express from behind, earning some boos. PCO hit a flip dive to the floor at 9:30. PCO hit his flipping senton on Juice on the ring apron to get a nearfall. PCO missed a moonsault. Onita jumped in the ring and brawled with PCO. Onita sprayed mist in Dango’s face to get the pin.
Dango’s WWE music hit, but out came Summer Rae! She danced in the ring with her former dance partner, and that got a nice pop.
8. Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe defeated Homicide and Low Ki at 11:59. Riccobani pointed out that everyone in the match except Mark Briscoe was a former ROH champion. Low Ki jawed at the fans; he wore normal ring gear tonight, not his “Hitman” outfit. After much stalling, Mark and Low Ki finally locked up, and Ki applied an armlock in the ropes. Mark hit a flip-dive on the floor at 6:30 on Homicide. All four brawled on the floor, then in the ring. Ki and Homicide worked over Jay Briscoe.
Homicide hit a stunner on Jay at 10:30. Jay fired back with a Death Valley Driver on Homicide. Low Ki got a Victory Roll rollup on Jay Briscoe for a nearfall. Jay hit the Jay Driller on Low Ki, and Mark followed up with the Froggy Bow top-rope elbow drop for the clean pin. Good match, but shorter than expected for the main event. That said, they got in all the offense you’d expect here.
Final Thoughts: The show clocked in at about 3 hours, 15 minutes. The opening match of Bandido vs. Bailey stole the show. The six-man tag, along with the Ishii and Suzuki matches, were all really good, too. The 10-man match was fun albeit slower paced than others here, and the dishes match was at least memorable even if absurd.
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